Early Risers.

[greatcoleswoodhalt]

On 07/02/2021 at 13:38, jafcreasey said:

1°C

N 16kt, gusting 32kt

 

Bitterly cold and snowing. 

 

Unfortunately little to report, once again, following another week of working from home.  The roof is slowing becoming watertight and will hopefully be finished this week, weather depending.

 

It was good to see the Isle of Wight Steam Railway announce details of their 50th Anniversary Gala in June, offering a flicker of hope on the horizon.  

 

Mrs C did her best to improve spirits yesterday arranging a 'cinema night' - pizza followed by my favourite, The Italian Job, which never gets old.

 

 

Talk of curry this morning means a request will inevitably now be submitted for next week...  A firm favourite (including Thai), though agree that heat shouldn't come at the expense of enjoyment!

 

Stay safe.

 

3°C

SE 15kt, gusting 28kt

 

Bright and dry but remaining cold, despite the temperate being the 'warmest' for sometime.  Last weekend's snow is just about hanging-on...

 

With the exception of a few snags, the roof is now finished.  Our neighbours have had to endure scaffolding in their garden for a fortnight now and it'll be a relief when it's taken down - hopefully a small bottle of something and a bunch flowers will be well received!

 

I've been remiss in keeping-up with Early Risers this week but have tried to check-in of an evening.  Work has been torrid for the mainpart and promises to remain so...  No doubt it's the primary reason for my struggles currently, but in the current climate I know I should be thankful.  We won a significant tender this week and in recognition my boss dropped-off a bottle of sparkling Brut Rosé* and a box of Valentine's Day cakes for Mrs C and I this morning - a cracking gesture though the stress hangs heavy and something will likely have to give soon.

 

Breakfast became lunch (too late to even be labelled brunch) after a lazy morning, sampling black pudding from a local farm which made a nice change.  We'll be heading out for our weekly walk shortly with a view to burning some of it off!

 

Stay safe.

 

*Coincidentally (after earlier posts) from Kingscote Estate, adjacent to the Bluebell Railway.

[New Haven Neil]

I have long followed and liked, nay admired, Iain Rice's writings and plans which have often inspired me, but unfortunately never met him.  I do recall on a TV programme of some kind (or was it a UTube?  my memory fails on that one too) that he did say in it that he had Parkinson's, so it is no secret.  Such a shame, and for anyone that has a similar illness too. 

 

One of Ricey's planning books has a photo with a query about where it might be, I know it well as I lived 50 yards from it as a boy, and have several times tried to contact him through various intermediaries but never had an answer.

 

 

[PeterBB]

Iain Rice featured in one of the DVDs issued with BRM TV ?2018 or was it on the one they did at the Motor Museum?

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by PeterBB
BRM TV not RM Apologies

[New Haven Neil]

IIRC He was at home Peter.  I just can't recall the programme.

[New Haven Neil]

Timeshift - 'The Joy of Sets'.  2003.   Aaargh - 2013, sorry, typo!  Thanks Tony.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2649488/?ref_=ttep_ep7

Edited February 14, 2021 by New Haven Neil

[leopardml2341]

4 hours ago, leopardml2341 said:

Keyboard Warriors - nuff said

 

2 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

And folk that live t'other side o' t' hills...........................

 

I rated your post thought provoking, because 'I think' that you will pay for that

[leopardml2341]

Good news, mi Covid test was negative. Still feel bleugh though, so I'll put it down to a head cold.

[Tony_S]

19 minutes ago, New Haven Neil said:

Timeshift - 'The Joy of Sets'.  2003.

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2649488/?ref_=ttep_ep7

2013 I think. I can’t remember 2003 very well. 

[New Haven Neil]

1 hour ago, Tony_S said:

2013 I think. I can’t remember 2003 very well. 

 

Corrected, thanks!  I was wondering where the years had gone.....

[PhilJ W]

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. The snow is disappearing, slowly but it is predicted than it will get warmer tonight. I do hope it does clear up before I go for my jab tomorrow. Time methinks for a mug or two of tea so its be back later.

[dcordingley]

11 hours ago, chrisf said:

I must have been feeling particularly liverish yesterday, for I took an almost fiendish delight in combing the pages for mistakes.  In one particularly fascinating article, entitled “Trains that went backwards … and other odd manoeuvres”, the profusion of expressions such as “I think”, “it seems likely” and “I suspect” leads the reader to the disappointing conclusion that the article is less than definitive.  I think it was the late Donald Boreham, sometime Secretary of the Model Railway Club, who once wrote that the best method of research was to publish what little you know in the sure and certain knowledge that someone will not only know more about it than you do but say so.  The captions have their fair share of avoidable errors.  Why, for instance, do I read that a set of coaches is in chocolate and cream livery when it is as plain as a pikestaff from the photo that they are wearing blood and custard?

Chris - a like-minded railway friend and I exchange emails every month about caption errors we spot in the main railway monthlies, which is quite entertaining. Whilst there is no excuse for obvious nonsense such as that you cite, I think we have to recognise that many caption writers are working from scanty (or indeed non-existent) notes from the photographer. It takes a fair degree of expertise to pin down locations, dates and likely workings - Tony Wright does it well with ECML subjects, for example. But a magazine like BRILL, which has long traded on extended captions, should really do rather better than they managed with the Oxford feature in last month's issue, where captions and images got rather muddled.

 

At least in the monthly magazines there are usually readers who write in to provide appropriate correction and clarification. In my fairly extensive library of railway books I have noticed a fair number of caption errors which should really have been picked up in proof-reading. The problem here is that such errors generally go uncorrected, and therefore become - by default and the passage of time - a misleadingly inaccurate historical record.

 

David            

[Barry O]

Been chuckinitdarn here all afternoon.. but there is still a skating rink in the front garden.. It does feel warmer though!

 

@newbryford.. the Settle mafia will be looking for you now.. hope your passport is up to date!

 

Baz

[Simon G]

Evening all,

still blowing a hoolie here, so I didn’t bother with a walk today.  Instead, I spent a couple of hours doing more preparation on the layout for ballasting, then managed a bit of the ballasting as well.  I thought that the ballasting would be slow, but it is the prep work that really takes the time.

 

I also managed to watch the Scotland v Wales rugby which I had recorded yesterday.  Wales were lucky to win, but their young wing is really something else with his speed.  There is nothing better in rugby than watching a real flier at speed.  Now got Ireland v France recorded to watch later.

[Gwiwer]

Evening all, 

 

Another swift check-in during a day when other things have taken precedence over the keyboard.  Apparently it has been St. Valentine's Day. Dr. SWMBO received a large bunch of flowers yesterday because no-one locally would deliver today.  I received my surprise likewise.  

 

Today has been a quiet day consisting of a couple of local walks and enjoying the balmy warmth of +3C instead of -3C.  The white slippery, crunchy stuff has gone.  

 

We shared the evening's cooking efforts.  Dr. SWMBO produced smoked salmon with a celeriac remoulade starter (no cooking involved!) and I served sirloin steaks with "pommes de maison" and green salad.  The potatoes are slightly microwaved to start them off, then sliced lengthways into eight and tossed into a tray of hot oil in the oven until crispy brown.  Skins on.  

 

We enjoyed champagne which was a Silver Wedding gift tonight; it was kept over from October because we were given several bottles and there are only two of us.  

 

And that was the weekend.  Nothing exceptional, nothing untoward.  I did receive an email from a friend which was signed off "Satay safe" to which I replied that I always try to enjoy satay safely.  He hasn't yet responded   I have responded to the ER PM and have removed myself from the ongoing conversation if only to avoid a flood of email alerts; I am unavailable.  

 

We re due to receive the dizzy heights of 13C tomorrow.  I may be able to give the thermals a rest.  Satay well, dear friends.  

[PhilJ W]

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Just finished dinner, poached salmon with the trimmings. Now to tackle Farcebook, wish me luck.

[The White Rabbit]

2 hours ago, Simon G said:

I also managed to watch the Scotland v Wales rugby which I had recorded yesterday.  Wales were lucky to win, but their young wing is really something else with his speed.  There is nothing better in rugby than watching a real flier at speed.  Now got Ireland v France recorded to watch later.

 

Ireland - France seemed more of a contest than some of the matches have been recently. Hope you enjoy it. 

 

 

Evening awl... Well, it's certainly warmer - though I type this while raindrops are pattering against the window and the wind is moaning round the chimneypots....  The skating rink from the seasonal duck-pond has now disappeared. Tomorrow is due to take another upwards step temperature-wise, so must dig out the shades and garden furniture. Though after a week or so of sub-zero temperatures it probably will feel like we could sit out! (With apologies to Ian Abel and others who have Really Cold sub-zero temperatures, us Brits are spoiled by the Gulf Stream).  

 

No reactions or side effects from my father's jab, so that's been a relief. Though maybe I had sympathetic/phantom symptoms, as I felt a bit under the weather for much of the weekend.  

 

I was sorry to hear about Mr Bishop's experiences. I know I'm still a relative newbie here but it doesn't sound much like the ERs I've seen. As others have said, I'd hope if anyone had a problem they could raise it with myself first. 

 

Lamb for lunch. It was going to be chicken but the queue at the butchers on Friday put me off, so shopping was deferred. Maybe tomorrow. 

 

I have a nasty habit of spotting typos. This one came from Starcross a few years ago.

 

'Night... 

 

[brianusa]

Sad Valentines Day, the first time I've not been able to send my wife a card due to the weather.  For nearly fifty years I have remembered but this time we have about two foot of snow on the drive and I'm not about to start shoveling at my vulnerable age!  I shall be forgiven, especially when I make dinner tonight!    However, its actually stopped snowing and its falling off trees so it must be melting.  We've kept our cat in through the last couple of days due to the rumoured coyote in the neighbourhood.  Poor thing, she would love to get out and play in the snow; perhaps tomorrow if we think the coast is clear.  Il Dottore wondered about the coyotes, they are not as big as a fair sized dog but bigger than a fox.  Not at all like the Looney Tunes version of Wily Coyote, but they sadly can take out small pets and rodents.  One of our cats ended up that way.

     Brian.

[polybear]

Bear has had a woolly sort of day today - fairly productive morning, albeit on dross, but a waste thereafter.  Must try harder tomorrow.  Some time was spent filling out forms to refer my PPI compensation claim to the financial services authority - Lloyds have denied all knowledge of ever receiving my claim and are now claiming the deadline has passed.  Well if they think that Bear gives up on cake tokens that easily then they're sadly mistaken.  It's not a big cake claim, but hopefully every little helps. 

I've also discovered that my chosen kitchen unit supplier has a 10% price rise from 1st March, so I'll have to finalise my design and bang in an order before then.  Scary.

I also managed to order the sockets, fused isolators and light switches etc etc from Toolstation and Screwfix - how can a bunch of those items for a small kitchen come to the thick end of two hundred smackers?  And in white plastic - no fancy chrome etc. anywhere (which would've been nice - but as soon as I get a scratch on one it'd drive me nuts for ever more).  Bear is keeping an account of all money spent on the kitchen refurb - I'll scare myself sh1tless at the end......I daren't add it up part-way thru' as I'll scream.  It's all essentials though, and no "Grand Designs" fancy ideas will feature anywhere - perhaps with the exception of the worktops though, as I do fancy black granite - though if the first estimate is anything to go by then it'll be old pallets instead

 

[Coombe Barton]

... adding cherry sauce to duck ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/02/14/still-led-by-donkeys/

[PhilJ W]

Hello again from Estuary-Land. Its raining! but it does appear to be washing the snow away. Arthur Itis was making a song and dance about it but now its stopped and so has he. Now to finish catching up on Farcebook but a muggatee first.

[tigerburnie]

G'night all

[Barry O]

1 hour ago, Coombe Barton said:

... adding cherry sauce to duck ...

 

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2021/02/14/still-led-by-donkeys/

Another case of people who have zero analytical skills and understanding creating havoc....

 

Baz

[Barry O]

Goodnight all!

Baz

[southern42]

‘ evening all from red dragon land. 
The sound of the last few day’s worth of rain and howling wind has died down. 
Like others on here, l spent a fair bit of time on the sofa,  partly doing a job on the laptop, partly watching the TV. It should be warmer tomorrow so hopefully I will be a bit more inventive with my time.

Fitt  and  Elfie taking it easy.

Take care all and play safe.

————-

Best wishes

Polly

[newbryford]

A productive day earlier - albeit on work stuff. I was in the mood for it.

At least I won't encounter a sh*tload of emails that require RTFM replies on my WFH week in the morning. All I will do is press the SEND button on about 20 of them.

 

However, there will be a flying visit to work in the morning to drop off some stuff that will make it easier for my colleague to WFW. A minor detour via Greggs may occur. Outbound for a bacon butty, inbound for a sausage roll lunch.

 

I've also been creative on my US workbench thread.

 

Ebay has been good this evening and I have already earmarked the extra tokens for small purchases made of plastic and metal.

 

Junior NB can register for a jab now that she's had DBS clearance for her new job (starting Tuesday) That'll mean 2/3 of the NB household are done shortly.

I will await level 6 or 8 for my turn 

Having said that, I'm of the opinion that there are others far more worthy than me - e.g. police and other emergency service workers outside of the health systems. Also others in regular contact with the public -police e, teachers and public transport workers.

There will be others that can be added to the list and no doubt there will not be 100% agreement on that list.

 

In the meantime.

Have a good Segunda-feira folks.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited February 14, 2021 by newbryford